Ahhh, such a good response! Thanks a lot guys! This is probably the quickest I've ever had any sort of following on one of my stories, and I really appreciate it. As always, any input is also very much appreciated!

The wind blew hard and fast against the building, but Emma didn't notice. She was on her cot, head in her hands, tears running down her face. Damn it. She'd finally had something good, and she'd just fucked it up. It was gone. Everything was going to be gone within the next few months, and it was all her fault.

Stabler knelt besides her, one hand on her knee as she wept. His eyes were full of compassion, not pity, which was a reason why she loved having him as an NCO so much. Damn it. She was going to miss him. His stupid morning talks, his attempts to bring up moral. His jodies on long runs. Emma was going to miss it all.

"Swan…It'll be alright."

He didn't understand. This had been her last chance, the last opportunity she'd had to redeem herself. This had been her chance to make an impact on the world, and now it was all slipping through her fingers like the sand that swirled around them. She wasn't like other people, she didn't have anything to go home to other than the Army. There was nothing left for her outside of the green side.

"I don't…I don't know what I'm going to do, Stabler…I don't have a fucking idea."

"You're going home, soldier. That's what you're going to be doing." She shook her head rapidly, tears falling faster now. No, no, no, she couldn't do that.

"They aren't going to take me back, Stabler…"

"I know. You'll be discharged upon arrival."

Emma let out a sob, shaking her head, continuing .Stabler rotated his position onto her cot, putting a hand on her shoulder. No, they wouldn't do that. Emma was a fantastic soldier, they couldn't just kick her out because of this, that was ridiculous…

"Yes. Swan. You'll be discharged. You can try for an appeal, but I wouldn't push it. They'll keep it honorable. But you don't want to test them."

"I…I don't have anything else I can do, this is all I've ever been good at, god damn it, I can't fucking…"

"Swan. Listen to me. This is what will happen. You'll arrive on base. They'll have received why you're back, and they'll get the information. They will discharge you. They'll look at accomplishments, status, whatnot. They will give you the paperwork, and you will hand in your uniform, and you will be a civilian."

"Stabler…

"And then you will go back to New York, and you'll find a home there until you have the ability or want to move."

"I…I'll be homeless, I-I don't…."

"Shhh. Swan. It's alright. I know some people in New York. They can help you."

"I'm not going to a fucking shelter, Stabler, I-"

"Swan. Listen." She stopped, the command evident in his voice. "I know some people that can help you out, but you have to be open, alright? I'll give you a set of numbers to call, and you'll call them. One can set up a place for you until you have a steady income. Another will help you decide what to do about your current…Condition. And then I'll give you the number to my old Chief. His name is Adams. He's a good man, likes military stature. He can set you up with work."

"Doing what?"

"What I did. He can help you get your fire training, and you already have your EMT training. He can help you get whatever you need to make a living. He's an old friend, I need you to trust him." She looked up to him, still watery eyed. "Swan. I need to hear that you'll trust him."

"What if I can't?"

"Then trust me. I can help you, but you have to make the call first. Alright?"

"C-can't you just pull some strings to keep me in? Can't you just…I don't know, wave your magic NCO want and fix it."

He gave a sad smile and a shake f his head. "Swan. We both know that isn't how it works."

She broke down again, falling onto Stablers shoulder as he wrapped a hesitant arm around her. "It'll be alright, Swan. Many people have done the same thing and succeeded. I believe in you."

"Swan? Miss Swan?" A shake of her shoulder. "Miss Swan, for the love of god, wake. Up!"

She jerked awake, realizing that she was still in the hospital. Night time had since fallen, the window adjacent to her as black as ink. She looked up at Regina, who looked vaguely worried, and reached up to touch her own face, which was wet with, what she supposed, were tears.

"Miss Swan, if I knew you were prone to nightmares, I wouldn't have let you stay with my son."

Emma got up rather quickly, ready to get out of there as soon as possible so that she wouldn't have to talk about this with Mills, but it seemed like fate was against her. Regina was blocking the doorway.

"I-it wasn't a nightmare. I just…I was thinking."

"And talking about it, none the less. What on earth were you dreaming so vividly about, anyways?"

"Just memories. Look, Regina, I really have to go."

"You were sleeping mere minutes ago! What, does my presence intimidate you?"

"No. Yes. I just really can't stay here right now, not knowing that Henry could have heard-"

"Heard what? You babbling with yourself? You weren't exactly coherent, Miss Swan, and he certainly doesn't understand half of what's going on around him right now. " Regina's eyes softened. "Sit down, Miss Swan. Relax. I won't hurt you."

Emma swallowed, and lowered herself back down into the chair. She reached for her shirt to dab off the tears that ran down her face, but when she found she must have taken off her sweatshirt sometime during the day and now all she was wearing was a tang top, she decided against it.

"Not exactly reasonable attire for a hospital, Miss Swan."

"It got hot." Even though she didn't remember taking it off, that was probably the reason. Remembering tended to make her warmer, as though she were back there.

"Hmm." Regina studied her for a moment before her eyes landed on Emma's right arm, and she raised a brow. "Does your Chief realize you're tattooed?"

"As long as it's covered, they don't really care."

"Which, as I clearly just demonstrated, is not covered at the moment."

"I'm not on shift."

Regina studied the insignia on her arm for a brief moment before she pulled her eyes up again, meeting Emma's. "Yes. I suppose you aren't. You're free to do what you want in your free time, aren't you?"

It seemed like a trap question, but Emma nodded anyways. Regina gave a very short nod and then leaned back, going to her phone as though the entire conversation hadn't just happened. Emma thought that may be her call to leave, and so she started to get up. Without so much as looking away from her phone, Regina frowned and spoke.

"What on earth was so important that you felt the need to permanently stain your skin with it?"

She at the tattoo and back at Regina , who seemed more involved with her phone at the moment. A curious glance above the device, however, told Emma that she had some sort of an audience.

"It was my unit. In Afghanistan."

She raised a brow. "Branch?"

"Army."

She hummed softly and clicked through her phone. "Rather interesting life you've led there. Soldier turned EMT turned firefighter turned kid sitter. Is there anything you aren't good at?"

"I can't cook."

"Well. We learned that a long while ago, didn't we?"

Despite the fact that it was obviously meant to be an insult, Emma snorted and looked down at her lap. How ridiculous was that? She was being insulted by Mills and yet she was laughing.

Regina smiled before frowning again. "My son seems to be under the impressions that we should fight each others monsters. Care to tell me what that's about?"

Emma hesitated. She'd hoped Henry wouldn't bring it up, but she couldn't really blame the kid. It wasn't his fault, being drugged up and whatnot.

"He just saw me have a nightmare. And he said you had them too. Said you told him they were easier to face if they didn't know you. His words. Not mine."

Regina's amusement was gone, her face soft and contemplating instead.

"He's, uh. Quiet the story teller. Get that from you?"

"Me? No. Not at all. I don't think I could tell a new story to save my life."

"His father, then?"

Regina remained silent, and it seemed as though they had breached into a subject that they shouldn't have breached into.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, no, it's fine. Henry didn't get a chance to meet my husband. He died about a month before he was even born."

Now it was Emma's turn to stay silent. She kicked the air, cursing herself for not thinking. Killian had said that Henry was Regina's only family. Emma wasn't sure why she had even brought it up.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, dear. Don't worry about it."

But it was apparent, from the far off look in her eyes, that Regina was worrying about it. Perhaps there was a speckling of would be tears in there, but Emma couldn't tell. It wasn't as obvious as it had been the first time she'd seen the woman cry.

"I can, uh. I can leave."

"Miss Swan. If I wanted you to leave, I'd have said so. I said not to worry about it. So don't."

Emma bunched her fists and looked down awkwardly at her lap.

"Trust me. This isn't the worst conversation I've had. Far from it. It's just a very old wound, is all. It's nothing for you to concern yourself with. Just as your past is nothing for me to concern myself with. Alright?"

Emma hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. Alright."